2011-07-25

1929-30 Torquay United F.C. season

1929–30 Torquay United F.C. season

Torquay United
1929–30 season
Chairman England Charles Dear
Manager England Frank Womack
Third Division South 19th
FA Cup First Round
Top goalscorer League:
Joe Pointon (18)
All:
Joe Pointon (18)
Highest home attendance 8,299 v Plymouth Argyle, 4 September 1929
(Third Division South)
Lowest home attendance 2,730 v Watford, 28 December 1929
(Third Division South)
Average home attendance 4,271
Home colours

The 1929–30 Torquay United F.C. season was Torquay United's third season in the Football League and their third consecutive season in Third Division South. The season runs from 1 July 1929 to 30 June 1930.

Overview

Needing a replacement for Percy Mackrill, who had left the club before the end of the previous season, Torquay United appointed former Birmingham City full back Frank Womack as their new manager. Womack soon set about putting a together a new squad in an effort to improve upon the lowly finishes of Torquay's first two seasons in the League. Debutants on the opening day of the season included centre half Harry Bruce, inside forward Harry Keeling and the ex-Sheffield United FA Cup winner Dave Mercer. However, the Magpies made a slow start to the campaign, losing their opening four games, and it was not until the introduction of forwards Joe Pointon and Les Robinson that results slowly began to improve. Effectively displacing Keeling and United mainstay Dan Kelly from the team, Pointon and Robinson ended up scoring a total of 34 goals between them by the end of the season. Robinson became the first Torquay player to score four goals in a League match in the 5-2 win over Walsall in November and, not to be outdone, Pointon repeated the feat in a famous 7-0 victory over Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic the following March. Indeed, it was Pointon and Robinson who scored the goals at Gillingham to secure Torquay's first and only away win of the season.

However, United's fortunes took a turn for the worse in the New Year when a January storm tore off the entire roof of the Grandstand at Plainmoor. With Torquay's finances already in a perilous state, there was a real possibility of the club going out of business altogether. But, with the help of public donations and some hastily arranged friendlies, Torquay just about managed to avoid financial ruin, although a run of three consecutive 5-0 defeats to Clapton Orient, Brentford and Brighton did not help to improve the spirits of the team or its supporters.

Nevertheless, reason for optimism arrived with that emphatic 7-0 win over Bournemouth at Plainmoor. The match marked the debut of a 17-year old winger from Dartmouth named Ralph Birkett. Although only making a handful of appearances for the Magpies before the end of the season, he would eventually become one of the finest players ever to appear for Torquay United. Ironically, the match also saw the final appearance of another local hero Sid Cann. The Torquay born full back had put in some impressive performances since joining United and the club had no option but to accept an offer to sell the young defender, as well as fellow full back Fred Corbett, to First Division side Manchester City.

Despite the emphatic win over Bournemouth, Torquay were still struggling at the bottom of the table as the season drew to a close. Defeat in the final game of the season against local rivals Exeter City would have seen United again having to apply for re-election to the Football League. As it was, a 2-1 victory over the Grecians was enough to see Torquay finish in 19th place, only narrowly avoiding the need for re-election.

Although, safe for another season, it was clear that Frank Womack and Torquay United still had plenty of hard work ahead them.

First team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.PositionPlayer
EnglandGKArchie Bayes
EnglandDFJack Fowler
EnglandDFSid Cann
EnglandMFBob Smith
EnglandMFHarry Bruce
EnglandMFStan High
EnglandFWJoe Hill
EnglandFWHarry Waller
EnglandFWDave Mercer
EnglandFWJoe Pointon
EnglandFWLes Robinson
EnglandDFFred Corbett
EnglandFWHarry Keeling
No.PositionPlayer
EnglandGKHarold Gough
EnglandGKLaurie Millsom
EnglandDFFrank Womack
EnglandDFGeorge Goucher
ScotlandMFBill Hunter
EnglandMFCecil White
EnglandMFBill Clitheroe
EnglandMFH. May
ScotlandFWDan Kelly
ScotlandFWAndrew Martin
EnglandFWJack Burn
EnglandFWRalph Birkett
EnglandFWHarry Rice

Players with most appearances in bold.

Results

Third Division South

FA Cup

Source: Leigh Edwards. The Definitive Torquay United F.C.. The Association of Football Statisticians. ISBN 1-899468-09-6.

League statistics

Third Division South

Source: "Football Club History Database". http://www.fchd.btinternet.co.uk/lghist/fl/fl1930.htm.

Results summary

Source: [1]

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points

Results by round

Source: [2]
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Lose; W = Win; P = Postponed.

Match of the season

TORQUAY UNITED 7–0 BOURNEMOUTH & BOSCOMBE ATHLETIC
Third Division South
Plainmoor, 8 March 1930

Having not won a match since the previous December, few would have expected Torquay United (currently lying 19th in the Third Division South table) to get much out of the visit of 6th placed Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic. The Plainmoor faithful had already witnessed a 5-0 thrashing from Clapton Orient back in January, and the travelling fans were treated to two more defeats by the same scoreline in their next two away matches. Not many then would have been expecting the Magpies to record their biggest League victory to date when the Cherries came to town.

Helping himself to four of the seven goals that day was centre forward Joe Pointon, doubling his tally for the season so far, although he would go on to score another ten goals before the end of the campaign. Dan Kelly and Harry Waller scored the other three between them while the Torquay defence held firm behind them, despite the 41-year old Frank Womack selecting himself at right back. (In fact, this was manager Womack's sixth match in succession and he ended up playing in every game for the rest of the season, even appearing as an inside forward when Torquay were themselves victims of a 7-0 humiliation at Walsall in April).

The match also has a unique place in history as it was the only time that two of Torquay's greatest ever home-grown players appeared together. Born in Babbacombe, Sid Cann had joined the Magpies the previous season at the tender age of 16 and quickly developed into an extremely effective full back, eventually displacing the more experienced Willie Brown from the team. In his second season he had proved his versatility by being able to fill in at centre half, a role he fulfilled in this game. Unfortunately, this was to be Cann's last match for the Magpies before leaving for Manchester City. Ironically, the same game saw the debut of another local lad with Ralph Birkett, a 17-year old amateur from Dartmouth United, appearing on the right wing. Birkett had a storming debut for Torquay setting up four of United's goals and the youngster signed a professional contract with the club shortly afterwards. While Cann's move to a First Division side was a major accomplishment for a Torquay player, Birkett would go on to eclipse his achievements when, after three full seasons for United, he would sign for Arsenal and then Middlesbrough before eventually appearing for England in 1935.


No.Pos.Name
1GKEngland Archie Bayes
2RBEngland Frank Womack
3LBEngland Jack Fowler
4RHEngland Stan High
5CHEngland Sid Cann
6LHEngland Bob Smith
7OREngland Ralph Birkett
8IRScotland Dan Kelly Goal Goal
9CFEngland Joe Pointon Goal Goal Goal Goal
10ILEngland Harry Keeling
11OLEngland Harry Waller Goal

Soccer.Field Transparant.png

High
Smith
Kelly
Keeling
Waller

Club statistics

First team appearances

Pos. Name Third Division South FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK Archie Bayes 18 0 0 0 18 0
GK Harold Gough 17 0 1 0 18 0
GK Laurie Millsom 7 0 0 0 7 0
DF Jack Fowler 28 0 1 0 29 0
DF Sid Cann 27 3 1 0 28 3
DF Fred Corbett 21 1 1 0 22 1
DF Frank Womack 19 0 1 0 20 0
DF George Goucher 6 0 0 0 6 0
MF Bob Smith 41 1 0 0 41 1
MF Harry Bruce 28 0 1 0 29 0
MF Stan High 28 0 0 0 28 0
MF Bill Hunter 6 0 0 0 6 0
MF Cecil White 5 0 0 0 5 0
MF Bill Clitheroe 1 0 0 0 1 0
MF H. May 1 0 0 0 1 0
FW Joe Hill 32 8 1 0 33 8
FW Harry Waller 29 5 1 0 30 5
FW Dave Mercer 28 0 1 0 29 0
FW Joe Pointon 27 18 1 0 28 18
FW Les Robinson 23 16 1 0 24 16
FW Harry Keeling 22 7 0 0 22 7
FW Dan Kelly 19 5 0 0 19 5
FW Andrew Martin 13 0 0 0 13 0
FW Jack Burn 7 0 0 0 7 0
FW Ralph Birkett 6 0 0 0 6 0
FW Harry Rice 3 0 0 0 3 0

Transfers

In

First appearance Pos. Name From
31 August 1929 MF Harry Bruce Gillingham
31 August 1929 MF Stan High Leicester City
31 August 1929 FW Harry Keeling Notts County
31 August 1929 FW Andrew Martin Rochdale
31 August 1929 FW Dave Mercer Shirebrook
4 September 1929 FW Jack Burn Worcester City
4 September 1929 FW Harry Rice Shrewsbury Town
4 September 1929 DF Frank Womack Worcester City
7 September 1929 MF H. May Unattached
11 September 1929 FW Joe Pointon Brighton & Hove Albion
11 September 1929 FW Les Robinson Thames
18 September 1929 DF Fred Corbett Worcester City
19 October 1929 DF George Goucher Nottingham Forest
26 December 1929 MF Bill Hunter Walsall
8 March 1930 FW Ralph Birkett Dartmouth United
29 March 1930 MF Cecil White Leeds United

Out

Last appearance Pos. Name To
7 September 1929 MF H. May Released
11 September 1929 FW Harry Rice Evesham Town
9 November 1929 FW Andrew Martin Released
7 December 1929 FW Jack Burn Hereford United
18 January 1930 MF Bill Hunter Released
25 January 1930 DF Fred Corbett Manchester City
15 February 1930 MF Bill Clitheroe Released
1 March 1930 FW Les Robinson Released
8 March 1930 DF Sid Cann Manchester City
29 March 1930 GK Harold Gough Retired
19 April 1930 FW Dan Kelly York City
19 April 1930 MF Cecil White Wigan Borough
3 May 1930 GK Archie Bayes Retired
3 May 1930 MF Harry Bruce Colwyn Bay
3 May 1930 DF George Goucher Shirebrook
3 May 1930 FW Joe Hill Newark Town
3 May 1930 FW Dave Mercer Released
3 May 1930 FW Joe Pointon Bristol Rovers

Source: Leigh Edwards. The Definitive Torquay United F.C.. The Association of Football Statisticians. ISBN 1-899468-09-6.

References

External links






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